Countries worldwide have adopted various programs to set standards for certifying efficient energy use of consumer products. Programs such as the Energy Star and the TCO label consumer products that are energy efficient. These programs specify levels of efficiency required for the certification of different categories of products. The programs certify products that are more efficient than a specified level of efficiency. Regarding the certification of data processing systems, the programs assess the efficiency of energy consumption based on three states of operation: active, low power, and standby.
A data processing system operating in active state is in full operation in the system. A data processing system operating in low or standby state remains active to react to user controls or commands from a controller, but some or most of the components are turned off to reduce overall power consumption. To monitor user controls or commands, some of the circuitry of the data processing system must remain active while operating in these states. A system power converter regulates the output voltage and power level from the AC power supply. Currently, both the system power converter and the AC power supply operate at an efficiency level of 50% or less, while the data processing system is operating in low power or standby mode. Therefore, the net power efficiency level for the AC power supply and the system power converter is at 25% or less.